Adjacent Words

Steep definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STEEP, a. Making a large angle with the plane of the horizon; ascending or descending with a great inclination; precipitous; as a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep declivity.
STEEP, n. A precipitous place, hill, mountain, rock or ascent; any elevated object which slopes with a large angle to the plane of the horizon; a precipice.
We had on each side rocks and mountains broken into a thousand irregular steps and precipices.
STEEP, v.t. [probably formed on the root of dip.] To soak in a liquid; to macerate; to imbue; to keep any thing in a liquid till it has thoroughly imbibed it, or till the liquor has extracted the essential qualities of the substance. Thus cloth is steeped in lye or other liquid in bleaching or dyeing. But plants and drugs are steeped in water, wine and the like, for the purpose of tincturing the liquid with their qualities.
STEEP, n. A liquid for steeping grain or seeds; also, a runnet bag. [Local.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having a sharp inclination; "the steep attic stairs"; "steep cliffs" [ant: gradual]
2: greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; "exorbitant rent"; "extortionate prices"; "spends an outrageous amount on entertainment"; "usurious interest rate"; "unconscionable spending" [syn: exorbitant, extortionate, outrageous, steep, unconscionable, usurious]
3: of a slope; set at a high angle; "note the steep incline"; "a steep roof sheds snow" n
1: a steep place (as on a hill) v
1: devote (oneself) fully to; "He immersed himself into his studies" [syn: steep, immerse, engulf, plunge, engross, absorb, soak up]
2: let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse; "steep the blossoms in oil"; "steep the fruit in alcohol" [syn: steep, infuse]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English stepe, from Old English st?ap high, steep, deep; akin to Old Frisian st?p steep, Middle High German stief — more at stoop Date: before 12th century 1. lofty, high — used chiefly of a sea 2. making a large angle with the plane of the horizon 3. a. mounting or falling precipitously <the stairs were very steep> b. being or characterized by a rapid and intensive decline or increase 4. extremely or excessively high <steep prices> • steepish adjective • steeply adverb • steepness noun Synonyms: steep, abrupt, precipitous, sheer mean having an incline approaching the perpendicular. steep implies such sharpness of pitch that ascent or descent is very difficult <a steep hill> <a steep dive>. abrupt implies a sharper pitch and a sudden break in the level <a beach with an abrupt drop-off>. precipitous applies to an incline approaching the vertical <the river winds through a precipitous gorge>. sheer suggests an unbroken perpendicular expanse <sheer cliffs that daunted the climbers>. II. noun Date: 1555 a precipitous place III. verb Etymology: Middle English stepen Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to soak in a liquid at a temperature under the boiling point (as for softening, bleaching, or extracting an essence) 2. to cover with or plunge into a liquid (as in bathing, rinsing, or soaking) 3. to saturate with or subject thoroughly to (some strong or pervading influence) <practices steeped in tradition> intransitive verb to undergo the process of soaking in a liquid Synonyms: see soak • steeper noun IV. noun Date: 15th century 1. the state or process of being steeped 2. a bath or solution in which something is steeped

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. adj. & n. --adj. 1 sloping sharply; almost perpendicular (a steep hill; steep stairs). 2 (of a rise or fall) rapid (a steep drop in share prices). 3 (predic.) colloq. a (of a demand, price, etc.) exorbitant; unreasonable (esp. a bit steep). b (of a story etc.) exaggerated; incredible. --n. a steep slope; a precipice. Derivatives: steepen v.intr. & tr. steepish adj. steeply adv. steepness n. Etymology: OE steap f. WG, rel. to STOOP(1) 2. v. & n. --v.tr. soak or bathe in liquid. --n. 1 the act or process of steeping. 2 the liquid for steeping. Phrases and idioms: steep in 1 pervade or imbue with (steeped in misery). 2 make deeply acquainted with (a subject etc.) (steeped in the classics). Etymology: ME f. OE f. Gmc (as STOUP)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

brasilein bra*sil"e*in, C16H12O5, to which brazilwood owes its dyeing properties. Brasque Brasque, n. [F.] (Metal.) A paste made by mixing powdered charcoal, coal, or coke with clay, molasses, tar, or other suitable substance. It is used for lining hearths, crucibles, etc. Called also steep.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Steep Steep (st[=e]p), a. Bright; glittering; fiery. [Obs.] His eyen steep, and rolling in his head. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Steep Steep, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Steeped (st[=e]pt); p. pr. & vb. n. Steeping.] [OE. stepen, probably fr. Icel. steypa to cause to stoop, cast down, pour out, to cast metals, causative of st[=u]pa to stoop; cf. Sw. st["o]pa to cast, to steep, Dan. st["o]be, D. & G. stippen to steep, to dip. Cf. Stoop, v. t.] To soak in a liquid; to macerate; to extract the essence of by soaking; as, to soften seed by steeping it in water. Often used figuratively. Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep. --Shak. In refreshing dew to steep The little, trembling flowers. --Wordsworth. The learned of the nation were steeped in Latin. --Earle.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Steep Steep, v. i. To undergo the process of soaking in a liquid; as, the tea is steeping. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Steep Steep, n. 1. Something steeped, or used in steeping; a fertilizing liquid to hasten the germination of seeds. 2. A rennet bag. [Prov. Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Steep Steep, a. [Comper. Steeper; superl. Steepest.] [OE. steep, step, AS. ste['a]p; akin to Icel. steyp?r steep, and st[=u]pa to stoop, Sw. stupa to fall, to tilt; cf. OFries. stap high. Cf. Stoop, v. i., Steep, v. t., Steeple.] 1. Making a large angle with the plane of the horizon; ascending or descending rapidly with respect to a horizontal line or a level; precipitous; as, a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep declivity; a steep barometric gradient. 2. Difficult of access; not easy reached; lofty; elevated; high. [Obs.] --Chapman. 3. Excessive; as, a steep price. [Slang]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Steep Steep, n. A precipitous place, hill, mountain, rock, or ascent; any elevated object sloping with a large angle to the plane of the horizon; a precipice. --Dryden. We had on each side naked rocks and mountains broken into a thousand irregular steeps and precipices. --Addison. Bare steeps, where desolation stalks. --Wordsworth.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(steeper, steepest, steeps, steeping, steeped) 1. A steep slope rises at a very sharp angle and is difficult to go up. San Francisco is built on 40 hills and some are very steep. ...a narrow, steep-sided valley. ADJ • steeply The road climbs steeply, with good views of Orvieto through the trees. ...steeply terraced valleys. ...houses with steeply sloping roofs. ADV: ADV with v 2. A steep increase or decrease in something is a very big increase or decrease. Consumers are rebelling at steep price increases. = sharp ADJ • steeply Unemployment is rising steeply. ADV: ADV with v 3. If you say that the price of something is steep, you mean that it is expensive. (INFORMAL) The annual premium can be a little steep, but will be well worth it if your dog is injured. ...green beans steeped in olive oil. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, V n, V-ed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Precipitous, abrupt. II. n. Precipice, abrupt declivity. III. v. a. Soak, macerate, imbrue, drench, digest, imbue.

Moby Thesaurus

Herculean, Olympian, Olympian heights, a bit much, abandoned, abrupt, abstruse, acme, aerial, aerial heights, airy, altitudinous, apex, arduous, ascending, aspiring, bathe, besprinkle, bluff, bold, boundless, breakneck, breathe, brew, brutal, bury, cliff, color, colossal, complex, concentrate, costly, crag, critical, dear, dear-bought, decoct, delicate, demanding, difficile, difficult, distill, dizzy heights, dominating, douche, douse, dredge, drench, drouk, dye, egregious, elevated, elevation, eminence, eminent, enormous, entincture, escarpment, essentialize, ether, ethereal, exacting, exaggerated, exalted, excessive, exorbitant, expensive, express, extortionate, extravagant, extreme, fabulous, face, fancy, fill, flavor, flush, formidable, gigantic, gluttonous, hairy, hard, hard-earned, hard-fought, haughty, headlong, heaven, heavens, height, heights, high, high-pitched, high-priced, high-reaching, high-set, high-up, hyperbolic, hypertrophied, imbrue, imbue, immerse, immoderate, impregnate, incontinent, infiltrate, infuse, ingrain, inject, inoculate, inordinate, instill, intemperate, intricate, inundate, invest, jawbreaking, knotted, knotty, laborious, lave, leach, leaven, lift, lixiviate, lofty, luxurious, macerate, marinate, mean, melt down, monstrous, monumental, mounting, no picnic, not affordable, not easy, of great cost, operose, orthodiagonal, orthogonal, out of bounds, out of sight, outrageous, outtopping, overbig, overdeveloped, overgreat, overgrown, overlarge, overlooking, overmuch, overpriced, overtopping, overweening, palisade, palisades, penetrate, percolate, permeate, perpendicular, pervade, pickle, plumb, plunging, precipice, precipitous, premium, press out, pricey, prominent, raise, rapid, refine, render, rich, right-angle, right-angled, right-angular, rigorous, rinse, rise, rising ground, rough, rugged, saturate, scar, scarp, season, seethe, set with thorns, severe, sharp, sheer, sky, soak, soaring, sodden, sop, souse, spiny, spiring, stiff, straight-up, straight-up-and-down, stratosphere, strenuous, sublime, submerge, suffuse, sumptuous, superlative, supernal, temper, thorny, ticklish, tincture, tinge, toilsome, too much, top, topless, toplofty, topping, tough, towering, towery, transfuse, tricky, unbridled, unconscionable, undue, unpayable, unreasonable, unrestrained, up-and-down, uphill, uplifted, upreared, uprise, vantage ground, vantage point, vertical, wall, wash, waterlog, wet, wicked, wring, wring out, zenith